Attere Dominatum
by PenguinAgen
Summary: Harry and Susan are enjoying their hard won victory when they get dragged into conflict once more. A fanfiction fanfiction of jbern's "To fight the coming darkness", so I recommend reading that first, though it should not be strictly necessary.
1. Chapter 1 - Disturbing the Peace

Saturday 21 February 1998

Susan was doing the dishes. By hand. She did not have to, as either their house elf or a flick of a wand could have it done in no time. It was something she chose to do because it was the one chore her mother and aunt had insisted she do. It was also one of the last things she had been doing that fateful night almost two years ago when Voldemort and some of his lackeys had attacked with a horde of Inferi and killed her family.

A lot had happened since then. She had become emancipated, as she was the last Bones, meaning that she was the head of the family. She had also gotten married not long after to a boy she had rarely spoken with before. Even though they only did this because of an end-of-the-line clause in their parents' wills, she definitely did not regret it. The increased fertility had also caused them to have triplets. In spite of her young age, she did not regret that either.

Oh yeah, and her husband, the famous Boy-Who-Lived, defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort. That was her main regret. That her newlywed husband had had to put himself in such danger to save the world from Old Moldy. After the many battles where he was out risking his life while she could do nothing but wait and hope for the best, she had promised herself never to let him go out alone in that way again. It was the reason she had started training with him. She was far behind and it was hard work, but she wouldn't let herself be a liability again. It was also a chance to spend even more time with him. Now that they had finished school, there would be more time for that, amongst other things.

"Are you almost finished with the dishes? There's something I'd like to show you." Harry called from the next room.

"Almost done, just a few more" Susan replied.

When she had said that she wanted to do the dishes, Harry had offered to help, but she had declined. Not that she didn't like him being there, she just liked some time for herself to think things through.

Walking into the living room, she saw one of the most wonderful sights: one of her daughters was walking! Admittedly, it wasn't particularly elegant and she would mostly stumble after no more than two steps, but that did not diminish the pride she felt. Looking at her husband she saw the same.

Before she had a chance to go over to him, Sirius appeared in his portrait.

"Harry! Narcissa is under attack!"

"What! By whom?" Harry asked, already with his wand out.

"Some Death Eaters and a few not in uniforms."

"Trixie!" Susan knew where this was heading.

"Mrs Susan called?" the elf asked as soon as she appeared.

"We'll be going soon and I want you to take care of these three, ok? Get them to bed, I don't know how long we'll be gone."

"No. You stay here with them." Harry said.

"No way. You're not leaving me again. I've had enough of waiting in safety not knowing whether I'll see you again."

"It'll be dangerous. I don't want them growing up with no parents."

"And I don't want them to grow up with only one, so I'm making sure you come back. Besides, if we can't help Narcissa and Charlie, Sirius will grow up without _his_ parents."

Harry wanted to argue, but he didn't need their slowly developing bond to know that he would not be able to dissuade her.

"Alright, but stay close to me."

"That was why I was coming wasn't it?" Susan said as she went to join Harry.

"Which of the Black residences are they at?" Harry asked Sirius.

"They're at Grimmauld Place."

"Grimmauld Place? Why are they there?" Harry asked

"The reparations are almost finished. Unfortunately, the wards are one of the few things not in place. You should be able to apparate directly into the parlor."

* * *

When they appeared, the first thing they saw were two downed Death Eaters. The whole place was a mess. There had had clearly been a fight, and from the sound of it, the fight had not stopped, merely moved.

"Come on, let's see what's going on," Susan said.

They could hear spells being fired on the floor above, so they rushed up the stairs with Harry in the lead.

After Snape and Harry had all but destroyed the place almost two years earlier, it had mostly been rebuilt. It now looked as though that had been a wasted effort.

At the top of the stairs, Harry saw Charlie trying to fight off two assailants while guarding the nursery from behind a rapidly disappearing bookshelf. The two invaders were also behind cover.

Harry cast a silent blasting curse. The spell hit its mark, and the Death Eater fell to the ground. Cover rarely covered your back.

Harry tried to hit the other, but he was now aware of them and managed to dodge Harry's spell while shielding himself from the spell from the portrait. He was not as lucky with Susan's silent stunner. This was the first time she had tested her training in the field.

"Charlie! Are you hurt?" Harry asked.

"I'll be fine, just go help Narcissa. They went upstairs." Charlie replied as he sat down, obviously in pain.

The two had not needed Charlie to tell them where the fighting was. As they climbed the stairs Susan had to duck her head to avoid being decapitated by a stray Lacero.

Harry could see one Death Eater, and two others whose uniforms he did not recognize.

He also saw one Death Eater lying face down on the floor. Narcissa was holding them back, but she was tiring.

Jumping into the fray, Harry fires two stunners to divert attention from Narcissa. One of the ones in a uniform Harry did not recognize blocked with a Protego, while the other dodged.

He was about to cast a shield against the Death Eater's cutting curse but stopped when he discovered that Susan was doing the same. Instead, he retaliated with his own Lacero. The Death Eater was hit in the stomach and was incapacitated.

Grabbing her chance, Narcissa quickly shot an Ice Spear through the chest of one of the unidentified assailants.

The last assailant saw that he was defeated and cast down his wand. Harry summoned the wand and put it in his pocket.

"We'll find out what we can from him. You go down and see to Charlie." Harry said.

"Right"

As Narcissa hurried down the stairs, Harry turned to their captive.

"You're not a Death Eater. Who are you, and why did you come here?" Harry asked.

The man looked around desperately but did not answer.

"Who are you!" Harry demanded.

"I must not say." The man replied with a strong french accent.

"You're french? What are you doing here?" Susan asked, curious as to what a frenchman was doing assaulting a home in the middle of London.

"Please, I did not want to do this. They have my family."

"Who?"

The man was not particularly talkative.

They could hear someone walking up the path from the road to the door. Harry walked over to the window.

"It's the aurors. Just in time as always." Harry said.

A scared look flitted across the man's face.

"Look, I've spent enough time fighting to know that these kind people aren't good at keeping promises. As soon as they find out you've failed, they have no reason to keep you family alive."

The man hesitated before finally speaking.

"They approached me while I was on my way home from work. They threatened me with never seeing my family again if I did not do as they said. We were told to kidnap Madame Black. I could not see any other way."

"We'll try to help your family, just tell us who was behind this," Susan assured the man.

"Zey didn't tell-"

The man was cut short by two aurors coming up the stairs.

"We'll take him with us." one of the aurors said.

"We were just questioning him." Harry countered.

"He is coming with us. Now."

The tone of the auror's voice left little room for argument.

Harry didn't need much.

"We are official hit wizards and are interrogating a captive who might have valuable information."

They were. They just had not been that active the past eighteen months.

"I'm an auror, that gives me precedence."

The other auror now had his wand pointed at Harry.

He didn't like it, but couldn't see any way of interrogating the captive further without attacking an auror.

"Fine."

The auror went took hold of the captive and apparated right there and then.

Going downstairs, they found Narcissa trying to comfort little Sirius in the nursery. Charlie was looking on with a pained expression.

"Thank you, I couldn't have held them off for much longer. If they had gotten into the nursery…" Charlie failed on the last sentence.

"They're gone now," Narcissa reassured him with a quick look to Harry and Susan to make sure she was not mistaken. Seeing them nodding, she continued.

"You should get to St. Mungo's. You're heavily wounded."

"Someone else might attack."

"We'll be here until you return," Susan said.

Charlie hesitantly nodded and, after saying a quick farewell to Narcissa and Sirius, flooed to the hospital.

After he had left, Narcissa turned back to her friends.

"Who were they? I recognized the Death Eaters, but not the others."

"Before the aurors took him away, we managed to get the survivor to reveal that they were french. Why anyone would want to force specifically Frenchmen to attack is anybody's guess." Harry replied.

"Didn't you find it odd how the aurors were so eager to get him away? They didn't even gather statements. It seemed as though there was something they didn't want him to tell us." Susan said.

"Why would aurors be covering for a home invasion?" Narcissa asked.

"And attempted kidnapping," Harry added.

"What?" Narcissa had a frightened look on her face.

"The captive told us they were told to kidnap you," Susan explained.

"Me?"

Narcissa looked relieved. At least they weren't after her child.

"I don't understand either," Susan said.

The couple stayed with Narcissa until Charlie came back, before apparating home.

* * *

The next morning they received a letter from the Ministry. As Harry read it, Susan tried

to read the expression on his face, though she did not know whether she was getting most from his face or over the bond.

"What does it say?" Susan asked.

"It's from the Minister himself. He wants to talk with me as soon as possible. He says it's a matter of 'national security'. I assume you're coming with me?" Harry said.

"It's nice to see you're finally learning," Susan said with a smile.

After letting Trixie know what they were doing, they apparated to the Ministry.


	2. Chapter 2 - Return to Civilization

Sunday 22 February 1998

"Good morning. I apologise for summoning you in this manner, but there is a rather urgent matter I wish to discuss with you," said the British Minister of Magic.

"Why me?" Harry asked.

"For two reasons. Firstly, I believe the matter has already affected your friends personally. Secondly, the people of this country whose support I need still remember what you did for them," Scrimgeour said.

"You're going to try to use my husband to gain support again? Well, that's not going to happen." Susan said.

Though Harry agreed, he still wanted to hear what the Minister was talking about. It might have something to do with what had happened last night, but what could that have to do with the wizarding community as a whole?

"What's so important that you need to speak with me personally?" Harry asked.

"I heard of what happened last night. Our intelligence shows that the men fighting alongside the Death Eaters were French. We have known for some time that after the war, the remaining Death Eaters fled to France where they have been since."

"You're insinuating the French had something to do with the attack?" Harry asked

"The evidence points in that direction," said the Minister.

"And you want me to support you when you officially accuse them?"

"The population trusts you."

Over the bond, Harry could feel Susan trying to warn him. Looking at her, he saw almost no sign of her suspicion. She had, after all, been the sole heir to a pureblood house and was, therefore, well-trained in politics.

"Wouldn't it be better to gather more evidence before openly accusing an entire country for the deeds of a few?" Harry argued.

He was also thinking about what the surviving Frenchman had told them before being taken away. Considering exactly what that implied, he thought it best not to reveal this knowledge.

"I would have said the same were it not for the way the French have been dealing with their resident Death Eaters. They have blatantly refused our requests for extradition," Scrimgeour said.

"What happened to the remaining assailants from last night?" Susan asked.

"They are our captives and currently under interrogation," Scrimgeour answered.

"I would like to speak with them," Harry said.

"The ministry is quite capable of questioning its prisoners, I assure you."

"As you said yourself, this has affected two of our friends quite harshly. I think it would reassure them to know that someone they trusted had a hand in finding out what happened."

"I understand." Scrimgeour looked thoughtful for a second. "Very well, you may speak to one of the survivors. Ms. Lightwood?"

A young woman in her twenties walked into the office.

"Would you please escort Mr and Mrs Potter to speak to prisoner no. 4?"

"Of course. Right this way."

* * *

The cell was dark and featureless, not even sporting the classic iron bars. The only light came from a candle hidden in an alcove.

"You have ten minutes," Ms. Lightwood informed them.

The prisoner did not look well. He was barely patched up and had not changed clothes since yesterday.

As soon as the door was closed, they cast a privacy charm.

"What's your name?" Harry asked.

"Bélanger. Josué Bélanger," the captive replied.

"Why did you attack 12 Grimmauld Place yesterday evening?" Harry asked. He was standing directly in front of the man while Susan stood off to the side.

"To kidnap Narcissa Black," Monsieur Bélanger answered. He was considerably better at English than the other Frenchman.

"And why would you do that?" Harry asked.

"To gain leverage over you."

"And you did this of your own accord?"

"Yes," Josué said with slight fear in his eyes.

"We all know that isn't true," Susan said, moving a little closer.

"It is!" the Frenchman insisted.

"We spoke with your friend yesterday, and he gave us a different story. He told us he had only done it to protect his family," Harry said.

"They told me my family and I would be safe if I did as they said!"

"Who are "they"?"

"Didn't see who they were."

"Do you know anything that might help us find out who did this?" Harry asked getting impatient.

The Frenchman only shook his head.

"It's the only chance of helping your family," Susan said gently, sending a warning glance to Harry. Being impatient wasn't going to get them anywhere.

"As I already told you, I do not know who did this," Josué repeated.

"Are you sure there is nothing you can tell us?"

"One second, I was on my way home, the next someone has a wand to my neck, tells me he will stun me and to assist the masked men when I wake up. The next I know I am surrounded by masked men in black robes outside the house."

Harry sighed.

"I don't think we can do much more here," Susan said.

"Me neither," Harry agreed.

On their way out of the Ministry, they were approached by a young woman.

"Hey, how are you doing? It's been a long time," Lavender Brown greeted.

"It has, and your working here full time?" Susan asked.

"I am. It's challenging and hard work, but far more interesting than school," Lavender replied, "I was going to get some lunch. Have you got anything planned?"

"Nothing specific, lunch would be nice. Harry?"

"Sure. It's been some time since we've been in England, might be nice to see things again," Harry answered.

* * *

Monday 26 February 1998

She had always enjoyed summer, but at the moment she was happy it was only February. It meant the weather was bearable. A bit on the cold side maybe, but far better than the scorching heat of summer of the Arizona desert.

She was standing with her baby in her arms, surrounded by the tribe of Native American natives she had been living with the past seven months. There was a reason they were in the middle of one of the more inhospitable parts of the desert rather than in their camp half a day's walk from here. They were performing a ritual that would help her son accomplish all she knew he was destined to accomplish. It was old magic that the tribe had guarded for as long as they knew.

They were only using it on him because they thought he was the one prophesized to raise them from the dust. It was one of those vague prophecies that were easily fulfilled by anyone who could control their magic at the age of 1, was a reincarnation of a Dark Lord, and had access to much of said Dark Lord's work.

The ritual was meant to free the ancient magic, and let it be absorbed by the target of the ritual. In order to target the ritual, they would use his wand. She had managed to painstakingly procure it in the chaos following that final battle.

The actual freeing of the magic would not take place for two days, but they were close.

* * *

 _Harry_

 _We heard. it's been all over the news. I see why you would like to talk. Next weekend is not a Hogsmeade weekend, but I managed to get special dispensation from McGonagall. Ron, Hannah, and I'll be in The Three Broomsticks around 2 PM on Saturday._

 _I found some information on what you asked me about last time we spoke. I think it might interest you._

 _Look forward to seeing you_

 _Hermione_

"She says they'll be in The Three Broomsticks at 2 PM on Saturday," Harry told Susan.

"I look forward to seeing Hannah again; it's been more than half a year," Susan said.

"It'll be nice to hear what's been happening. I just hope it hasn't been as eventful as the other years," Harry said.

"You never did do normal," Susan replied. Remembering where she was, she added with a smile "and still don't."

"True, though it would have been nice to get through even a single year without being in mortal danger."

"It's not too late for that. This year has been safe up till now."

"Don't jinx it. I like it how it is."

"Me too."


	3. Chapter 3 - Reunion

Saturday 28 February 1998

This was what she had been waiting for for the best part of six months. Her son would finally gain access to the powers the tribe had been protecting for so long.

Seeing the chief signal to her, she walked into the cave, her young boy in her arms.

Inside, she lay down her son and walked out. It pained her to leave him there, but she would do it if that was what it took.

From outside, she could not see what was happening, but she could hear the chanting that grew louder and louder before suddenly stopping. She and the rest of the tribe waited in silence for the ritual to be completed.

After what felt like ages, the chanting started again, and the chief came out carrying the infant on top of what looked like the skull of a bison.

The skull was put down in the middle of the circle of tribespeople, and, as the whole tribe started chanting, it started darkening. As it got darker and darker, it also started losing its shape, slowly becoming more ethereal before engulfing the baby.

Her first instinct was to rush over and try to save her child, but she knew this was meant to happen.

As the chanting climaxed, what was now a mass of darkness let out a blinding flash that made everyone keep their eyes closed for several seconds. Afterwards, when Penelope went to pick up her son, she could feel the new power radiate off him.

This time, no one would stop him.

What none of those present noticed while they were blinded, was the small piece of darkness that flew away towards the horizon.

* * *

A very faint pop could be heard as they apparated into Hogsmeade. One might as well practice silent apparition when one has the chance.

"There's almost no trace of the battle," Susan commented.

"I'm glad they restored the place. It's nice to replace the memories of broken houses and streets littered with Inferii," Harry said.

Susan squeezed his hand to reassure him.

"Voldemort's dead. You defeated him, and he won't be coming back."

"He might not, but I can't believe we will be enjoying this peace for very long. Everything surrounding the attack on Grimmauld Place is suspicious."

"Whatever happens, it can't possibly be half as bad as Voldemort," Susan reassured him, "and we'll be ready."

"I hope you're right."

"I know I am."

Arriving in The Three Broomsticks, Susan and Harry exchanged hugs with their friends and sat down at a table.

"So, what have you two been up to while we've been labouring away at school?" Ron asks.

"Apart from relaxing, taking care of the triplets, and other things I'm sure Harry would appreciate me not going into detail about, we've been learning more advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts," Susan answered.

"You mean you finished school early, and instead of doing whatever you wanted, which I know you can afford, you decide to spend your time doing more school?" Ron asked, astounded.

"Pretty much. Though most of it is quite fun. It's amazing what you can learn with enough time and the right tutors," Harry said.

"You know I still envy you for that," Hermione said.

"And yet you chose to stay at the school," Harry replied.

"I just wanted to experience one normal year," Hermione said.

"About that, what's been happening here?" Harry asked.

"Well, everyone's getting ready for their finals, but apart from that, Professor Binns' been fired," Hannah informed them.

"Really?" Harry asked, "I didn't think that would be possible."

"Well they did and now the ministry has sent someone," Hannah said.

"Not that he's much better," Ron grumbled.

"He must be better than Binns. He never talked of anything other than goblin rebellions, and even if he did, I probably wouldn't have realized because I was sleeping," Harry argued, remembering the droning professor.

"It's true that he isn't great, but he doesn't drone in the same way as Binns. Though he does have his own favourite topic," Hermione said.

"What is it?"

"The French."

"The French? You'ed think the Ministry would like him to focus on our country," Susan said.

"Well, in a way he is. He lectures about the French, but mainly about the Anglo-French relations, like how England's _always_ beat them and how the French didn't put up much fight against Grindelwald," Hermione explained.

"That… is interesting," Susan said thoughtfully, knowing Harry was thinking the same.

"How so?" Hermione asked.

"To explain that, we'll need to explain why we wanted to speak to you today," Harry said.

"Oh! The article about the attack on Grimmauld Place mentioned several times that Frenchmen were involved in the attack," Hermione said.

"Did they also mention that these Frenchmen were forced to be so?" Harry asked.

"No," Hermione replied with a frown.

"Both the Frenchmen we got to ask questions were unwilling to reveal this. It turned out their families had been kidnapped," Susan told their friends, all of which now looked shocked.

"I know, you'd think this kind of information would be relevant for a newspaper," Harry said.

"You think someone is trying to cover it up?" Hannah asked.

"We don't know, but now we definitely have to look into it," Susan answered.

After a short pause, the conversation drifted into small talk for a while.

"Hermione, you wrote that you had discovered something that might interest us," Harry said.

"Yes. I've done some research as you asked," Hermione replied.

Seeing at Ron and Hannah's questioning expressions, Susan decided to explain.

"Before I explain, I want of you to promise never to tell anyone. It's a bit private."

"I promise," Hannah said.

"I'll never tell a soul, but now you have to tell us," Ron said.

Susan drew a deep breath before beginning.

"As you know, when Harry and I got married, end-of-the-line clauses were active that forced us to marry within a given time, but would also make us more… compatible. This did a few things, but the relevant part is that we began to be affected by each other's' emotions," Susan explained.

"Isn't that quite normal with these end-of-the-line clauses?" Ron asked.

"It is. It was a stronger than we had expected, but we put that down to the clauses being mutual," Susan answered.

"The thing that made us tell Hermione was something that only started a few months ago, but has been becoming stronger since. Sometimes, we know not just each other's emotions, but also the others actions a split second before they actually do them," Harry told them.

"Which is where I come in," Hermione said, "I've been looking in the library, and as I wrote, I have found something. There are not many recorded examples of this, not least because many, like you, would probably like to keep it a secret, but it is not unheard of. It is not clear exactly what causes it, but the magical power of the bonded, the trust between the two and their skill in mind arts, especially occlumency all seem to have a positive effect. My own theory is that Harry's past experiences with his mind being connected to Voldemort's might for once have a positive effect, opening his mind to this kind of bond. What you will want to know, is that I have found no cases where anyone has had any of these qualities to the extent you do, so there really is no way of telling how it will develop."

"You're saying the bond might get even stronger?" Susan asked, amazed at the prospect.

"Maybe. As I said, there really is no way of knowing what will happen," Hermione answered.

"Bloody hell, that's amazing," Ron said. If it hadn't been his girlfriend and his best friend telling him, he would never have believed them.

A loud pop sounded and Trixie appeared next to Harry.

She was clearly hurt badly.

"Bad men are on the island. They tried to be sneaky, but Trixie saw them." She said.

"The island is under attack?" Harry asked.

"Yes! Some was headed for the nursery! Trixie tried to stop them." Trixie said.

"Oh no!" Hermione gasped.

Harry could feel Susan's panic rising, and taking her hand, he forced his own panic down.

"They must have taken down the wards. That means we can apparate there," Harry said.

"We're coming with you," Ron stated.

Harry wasn't happy about dragging his friends into this, but his children were in danger, so he really didn't have time to argue. He nodded and they all apparated at the same time.

Nothing happened.

"Damn it!" Harry swore, "they must have put up anti-apparition wards as soon as they were in."

"We can apparate to a nearby island and go from there. It'll take longer, but it's the fastest I can think of," Susan said.

"We've only ever been to your island, we'll have to side-along apparate," Hermione said.

"Right, but I only think we can take one each. One of you will have to stay."

Hannah was the first to speak up.

"I'll stay. I'm not as used to this as Ron and Hermione are. I'd only get in the way. I'll make sure to get you help."

"Thank you. And could you get Trixie to Madame Pomfrey? We'll meet again as soon as the situation has been cleared up," Susan said, quickly giving her best friend a hug before taking Hermione's hand.

Harry took hold of Ron, and they apparated.

Hannah was left on her own in The Three Broomsticks, quite stunned at the events.

* * *

"We'll go on ahead. You two come as quickly as you can," Susan said. This was the first time they would be doing this for anything other than practice. Luckily they had done quite a lot of that. They were quite lucky that she too was a bird.

"How will you get there?" Ron asked.

"Watch," Harry answered simply.

As he said it, he and Susan transformed into their animagus forms. Harry made sure to rein in his aura.

"We'll get there as fast as we can," Ron said.

Harry nodded his agreement before he and Susan spread their wings and flew towards their island. As soon as they were far enough away from the others, Harry let his aura loose.

Susan had become immune to it, likely because of the bond, and he wanted whoever was doing this to suffer in any way possible. Besides, it might give them a small advantage if their opponents were distracted from fighting by vivid images of their worst fears.

It took a couple of minutes before they could see the island. When they could, they were both so stunned they stopped flapping for a few seconds. Some of the buildings were collapsed while others were burning, there was even what looked like a muggle bomb going off.

Regaining their composure, they looked each other in the eyes. The material damage they could overcome, the place had always felt more like a holiday resort than a home, but their children…

Harry and Susan quickly looked for a secluded spot to land and transform. Finding one they started heading towards it.


	4. Chapter 4 - The Magic in your Mind

Nearing the ground, they saw a black object flying towards them. They tried to evade, but as soon as the object got close, it disappeared and everything went black.

Their bodies automatically transformed and landed softly on the ground.

* * *

"Where am I?" Harry asked, mostly to himself.

"I'm not quite sure, though I suspect at least partly inside your head" a deep voice answered. Or maybe it was several. It was hard to tell.

"Who's that?" Harry asked, still quite certain he was asking himself, as he could not see the speaker.

"I believe "who" is the wrong question. "What" might be more appropriate, though even that would be difficult to answer, especially since I am not quite sure what the answer is. You see, I only gained consciousness a few seconds ago," the voice, now quite high-pitched, explained.

This did nothing to reassure Harry. Quite the opposite in fact.

"Harry? What's happening?" Susan asked from behind him. This did reassure him. Susan was here, that was something he could grasp onto.

"I think I'm going crazy. There's a voice speaking to me, but I can't see anyone," Harry replied.

"That would be because I am not what is normally classified as a living being. I do not have a body. As I said, "who" is the wrong question. The short answer to "what" is that I am a personification of some kind of ancient magic that has been locked away for quite some time," the Voice explained, now seemingly trying out several different voices.

Had the Voice come from a particular direction, both Harry and Susan would have been gaping in that direction. Instead, they moved a little closer while looking for any signs of danger. All around them all they could see was a mixture of all sorts of different colours. They couldn't see any floor, sky or walls. Even by Harry's standards, this was a weird experience.

"I am terribly sorry if I have frightened you. Maybe I should try to explain things in a more orderly fashion."

No response.

"Look, I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm actually trying to help you. Kind of," the Voice assured them.

"Anyone could say that," Harry countered.

"That… is true. To be honest, I need your help to. For protection."

"That might be difficult if we can't see you," Susan said.

"Not really," the Voice said.

Once again, both humans opted for a non-verbal response in the form of a confused expression.

"All you need to do for now is to survive and to make sure not to let anyone pull me out of your… well, heads. Or minds. Or whatever you'd call where we are," the Voice explained. It had settled for a slightly deep, but smooth voice. Fitting for a man in his thirties.

"What's to stop us from pulling you out ourselves," Harry threatened weekly. Honestly, he had so little idea of what was going on, it was a completely empty threat.

"Then I would be forced to go to the dark wizard who originally sought to claim me and whom I only narrowly escaped," the Voice explained "and I might be able to help you."

"How?" Susan asked.

"I know things. I can teach you things."

"What kind of things?" Susan asked.

She may not have been a Ravenclaw, but that did not make her any less curious of what a personification of some ancient magic could teach her. Especially when said personification was stuck in her head.

"Some knowledge of what my brother is likely teaching the previously mentioned dark wizard, a lot my own knowledge of what is now ancient and forgotten magic, and a few spells."

"I think we need some time to think this over. How do we get out of here?" Harry asked.

"Simply wake up," the Voice said, "As you are not truly unconscious, you should be able to do that whenever you want to. To come here again might be a bit more difficult, but still shouldn't be too hard. Just think of this place and try to dream of it."

"Right. Come on let's go," Harry said.

"Wait," Susan replied, before turning back to their surroundings, "You said we were in our minds. How can we both be in the same place?"

A thoughtful silence followed before the Voice answered.

"You have probably realized that the two of you have some kind of bond, a strong one at that."

"Yes, we've been able to be influenced by each other's emotions," Susan confirmed.

"It's quite extraordinary."

"Yes, we think so too. Why is this relevant?" Harry said.

"Because it will likely get even stronger," the Voice explained.

"Wait, the bond will get even stronger?" Harry asked, already amazed at what he had been informed until now.

"Oh yes, me residing somewhere inside both your heads should push your magics/souls/minds- whatever even closer together, though I do not know to what extent. You might even develop some kind of conscious telepathy while the unconscious telepathy you are already capable of develops alongside it." the Voice told them, knowing that while his knowledge would be useful to them, this was the most powerful weapon he could give them. And they would need everything they could get if they were to stand against his brother.

"This is quite a lot to take in," Harry said, "we should probably wake up and find out what we are going to do."

Susan nodded in agreement and took his hand.

"Before you go, there is something you should know," the Voice told them.

"What?" Harry asked.

"When I hit the two of you, you were knocked unconscious," it started.

"I think we'd worked that part out for ourselves," Susan said.

"Yes, but when that happened, you might have lost your memory of the preceding minutes. What is the last thing you can remember?"

"We were sitting in The Three Broomsticks with Ron, Hermione and Hannah."

"Ah. Well, before you wake up you should probably be informed of the rest, though I don't think you'll like it," it warned.

"What happened?"

"With your permission, I will rummage around in your minds and see if I can restore the memory."

They hesitated. They did not like the idea of their minds being invaded again, but at least it did ask. Besides, it was already in there and was likely going to be for some time, so they were going to have to trust it.

"Fine," they said in unison after an exchanged glance.

"Gimme a second…"

It did not take long before their memories started returning.

"Our babies!" Susan cried. Harry just looked stunned, though that quickly turned to anger.

"Why didn't you let us know before? We could have done something to save them!" he half-shouted. It was difficult to truly let out your anger at a disembodied voice.

"With the time it took before I could speak to you, I greatly doubt you could have done anything, and I needed to speak with you in peace," the Voice explained, "I understand your anger, though I really do not think there was anything you could have done. You should probably wake up now, get your bearings, and find out what to do next."

Harry was about to say something, but was stopped by Susan's hand.

"Not now," she said, "this voice didn't kidnap our children, and being angry at it won't help find them.

Seeing her face, he relaxed a tiny bit and sighed. They both woke up.

When both humans were gone, the magical personification had some time alone. All the time in the world really. Not that he was sad to be alone, after all the time his unpersonificated form had been forced to spend with his brother, he was glad to.

The intent of the creator was tied into the magic they created, and there was a reason his brother's creator had been known as one of the most thoroughly sadistic, egoistic, and just plain evil wizards of the time.

It settled down to think of all the things a newly created consciousness thinks of like "Who am I?" "Where did I come from?" and "What, exactly, is the purpose of that white three-legged plastic thing in the middle of a pizza box?".

The last question was mainly a last-ditch attempt to stave off the growing fear that it could, at any moment, be pulled out of his new host's head and forced to once more live with his brother.


	5. Chapter 5 - Rise of Evil

As soon as Harry woke up, he made a grab for his wand while seeing what kind of situation he was in.

He was in a cell, or at least he thought he was. He was quite certain he had his eyes open, but he still could not see anything.

He also did not have his wand which, considering his surroundings, was not entirely surprising.

They had apparently put him and Susan in different cells. Worried what else might have happened to her, he checked the bond. What he found surprised him. He could not just feel how she was, he also knew how her surroundings looked and smelled. They were just as dark.

 _Harry?_ Susan thought. She could feel him checking on her.

 _Susan?_ Harry thought.

 _You can hear me?_

 _Yeah, where are you? Oh wait, I can already see what you can see. Right. How could I forget._

Both sat in silence for a few seconds, until they realised that there really was no difference from when they had their 'conversation'.

 _How can we hear each other's thoughts?_ Susan asked.

 _I have no idea._

He truly didn't. His next thoughts were somewhere along the lines of:

"This feels weird. I'm quite sure Hermione never mentioned anything like this when talking about bonds. Probably has something to do with the magic now stuck in our heads. Susan thinks the same. What? How do I know that? Oh yeah, I can read her mind. And she can read mine. _Hello!_ I can even read my own mind through hers. This is fucked up."

 _I would ask how you were feeling, but I apparently already know._ Susan thought.

 _So how do I feel?_ Harry asked, curious.

 _Pretty much the same as me: slightly cold, confused, and scared for our children._ Susan answered. The last one dampened the mood somewhat.

 _It appears you were right. I truly don't do normal._ Harry thought back with a small chuckle.

 _I don't know whether this is scary or amazing._

 _Me neither, but let's settle for amazing._

Both sat in their own thoughts for a few seconds finding it surprisingly easy to ignore the other's when they were not purposefully communicating.

 _It could be very useful._ Harry thought.

 _True._ Susan replied. _Let's see if we can find a way out of here, I don't want to let my mind start getting ideas of what has happened to our children._

They found that they were both in small cells with smooth walls and a single iron door. From the sound of it, both were very thick. Someone was obviously trying hard to keep them from escaping.

Not knowing what else to do, they spent the rest of the day finding out more about each other than they had never imagined. Some of the things they found would have made them angry or disappointed, but that was difficult when they also knew every little detail of the reasoning behind it.

After some minutes, a muggle light bulb came on, and a bowl of something mildly edible appeared in their cells.

 _A muggle light bulb?_ Susan asked.

 _I guess they didn't want to have to send anyone in here._ Harry thought.

None of them were too eager to eat what seemed to be their supper, and after a minute the light went out again. Going to the spot the "food" had occupied, they found that it was no longer there.

 _We might actually want to be quick and eat it next time._ Susan said.

 _I'd rather hope we get out before then._ Harry answered.

 _You and me both, but I don't think that is likely. With the anti-apparition wards, I don't see us getting out of here without our wands._

 _I guess now would be a good idea to practice wandless magic._ Harry proposed.

 _Might as well._ Susan agreed.

Wandless magic was much more difficult than wand magic. Their private instructor had introduced them to it a few months ago, so they knew where to start, but they had not gotten much training.

After a couple of hours, they were both very tired and decided to try and get some sleep. This was not very successful, as relaxing allowed the worries that had been held off while they were occupied to catch up with them. Even though being able to communicate did provide some comfort, actual physical contact would have helped.

* * *

 _29th February_

 _We have received shocking reports of events that came to pass yesterday afternoon. It appears that Harry Potter has been kidnapped along with his wife and children. That's right, the boy-who-lived, the vanquisher of the Dark Lord was attacked in his own home. The island was mostly turned to dust in the process, which leads one to think what kind of heroic fight the young hero managed to put up against the intruders. The first question I had when I heard was "who?". What enemies does Harry Potter still have? It turns out the Death Eaters we all thought had disappeared were, in fact seeking refuge with the French! Not only that, but according to the DMLE, the attacking Death Eaters were even aided by both a group of French wizards and a French muggle mercenary group._

 _Following the attack on Narcissa Black as closely as it does, this adds up to a total of three attacks on heads of Houses, in all of which the French have participated. Commenting on this in his press release Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour stated that "This cannot be accepted! Already during the war France was home to much of our enemies international support, and now they aid criminals in attacking us again! I promise you that I will not stand idle as they show their true colours."_

 _For now, we can only wait and see what reaction the Ministry comes up with, but as soon as he does, you can be sure to read it here._

* * *

They spent the next days practicing their wandless magic and getting to know each other in a way they had not thought possible.

The almost constant darkness was maddening, and the few times the light went on, their eyes had become so accustomed to the darkness, the light was almost blinding.

They had slept twice before they were starving enough to eat the contents of the bucket that appeared in their cells. It was not as bad as they had imagined, but then again that might as well be their hunger making it less horrible.

* * *

 _13th March_

 _Today, we are sad to bring you terrible news. Yesterday evening, while Diagon Alley was still busy with its evening activities, a Veela went amok and managed to kill and injure many innocent witches and wizards. It is rumored that it had been given something called "Black Widow Rush", a little-known potion that makes the Veela go on an almost unstoppable homicidal rampage. It makes you wonder why such dangerous creatures have been allowed to walk among us._

 _As if this were not enough, an explosion shook the magical community of Highmere in the middle of the night and brought down the protections of several of the magical homes there. A pack of werewolves used this to kill many of the town's inhabitants._

 _Though it is important to mourn the losses of innocents, it is equally important to find the cause, so that we may stop it from repeating. This, at least, is an easy task, as we need only look across the English Channel. It is well known that France is home to the largest Veela communities, and the French have previously shown a disposition towards muggle explosives when attacking Britain._

 _The werewolf attack has caused new regulations to be created. For more information on these see page 6._

* * *

Neither Harry nor Susan had any idea how much time had passed. The only indication they had was how many times they had slept, and how many times their food appeared, so they decided to keep count. Their current tally was fifteen periods of sleep and food appearing thirteen times.

"Nice to see you again!" the Voice said.

They had decided to speak with the thing in their minds again as they really did not have much else to do.

"Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you, but since I can't actually see you," Susan replied

A pelican came flying in from nowhere somewhere and landed in front of them.

"Now you can," the Voice said.

"You're a pelican?" Harry asked.

"Looks like it."

The voice had not come from the pelican.

"I can't believe I'm in a situation where a talking pelican would have made _more_ sense," Susan said.

"Was there any specific reason you came here again?" the Voice asked, "not that I mind."

"Yes. I don't know if you somehow know, but after waking up, we've been able to hear each other's thoughts and sense anything the other could sense," Susan said.

"And you're guessing it has something to do with the bond getting stronger like I said?" the Voice asked.

"Yes," Susan replied.

"While I had suspected that something like this might happen, I hadn't really expected it. I only know of one other example, though that might simply be because I've been shut off from the world for so long."

"So it has happened before? Who were they?" Harry asked.

"The man who created my brother and me and his wife. They were just as surprised."

"Is there any way of breaking this connection?" Susan asked, "not that we necessarily want that."

"My creator never looked for a way to do so. I only know that it was still there after my brother and I were extracted from their minds," the Voice said.

"Last time we spoke, you told us that you could teach us things. Considering who you said created you, I'm not quite sure I want to know, but what kind of things would that be?" Harry asked.

"Locations mostly. Of my creator's works. He spread them out and protected them so others wouldn't find them. Though I suspect much of that was in vain, some of it might still be intact and useful."

"So you're offering us knowledge of locations that are likely highly dangerous that might contain some artefact created by an evil wizard a long time ago? 'Cause if it is, I think we'll decline. Now I can't speak on Susan's behalf because the bond doesn't work here, but I'm pretty certain we're both more interested in finding our children. No offence," Harry said.

"We are," Susan said.

"Well you know where to find me if you change your mind: in your mind," the Voice said.

* * *

 _19th May_

 _Today I will write something that will likely cause my death. I do this knowingly so that the public might become aware of the terrible state our nation is in. There have been many attacks the last months, many crises. While these are all terrible, they are nothing compared to the sickness that is eating away at the very heart of our country._

 _It is not the French, the werewolves, or the Muggles we should be worried about, but our own Ministry of Magic. Our great Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, has taken every opportunity to cast the blame of these attacks on our neighbours to the south, who, apart from a select few, have never shown any ill will towards us. He has blamed the werewolves, the muggles and muggle-borns and even the homosexuals. He insists that we must be strong together as a people, that our nation will be great once more. I ask, are these people that he marks as our enemies not also part of that nation?_

 _You may not believe, or want to believe what I have written, but I hope that if I am carted off to one of their concentration camps come morning, some of you will realise the truth of what I have written. There is a cancer in this country. I only hope we are strong enough to fight it._

 _20th May_

 _Early this morning, a squad from the SEF [Scrimgeour Executive Forces] raided the publishing house of The Quibbler and confiscated its printing press. The magazine had been printing subversive articles supporting the sub-humans responsible for the attacks._

 _The aurors were acting on the orders of the newly created Department of Public Information. The department was created from the office of the Ministry of Magic Public Information Services to help fight against those who would tarnish the minds of the public with false information. It is yet another sign of our Minister's brave resistance against the forces that would harm our nation._

* * *

They had now slept sixty-four times and food had appeared fifty-two times. By now they had found out that the food did not appear periodically. This was likely to stop them from using it to keep time. Or maybe it was so they could not time their sleep with it and, therefore, get woken by the blinding light far too often.

Susan had little success with wandless magic and had only managed a small _Lumos_. Harry on the other hand had more magical power and experience and was therefore already trying a _Reducto_ to see if he could blast through the door.

* * *

 _24th July_

 _As this paper was being sent out yesterday morning, our Minister Rufus Scrimgeour held a speech dealing with the threat from our southern neighbours. Most of our readers will have heard it over the wireless, but in case you haven't, we have included it here._

" _These past months have been a harsh time for our proud country, but it makes me proud to see that this has not dampened our spirit. It goes to show that not even a Dark Lord can put us down._

 _During these months, two things have become clear to me. Firstly, the Wizengamot has once again showed that it is absolutely incapable at handling the situation and have been pushing that responsibility onto me and the Ministry. Secondly, the French have shown their true colours. Not only have they secretly been sheltering Death Eaters from justice, they have even joined them in acts of terrorism against our country! Being the cowards they are, the French have rejected any responsibility for the actions of their countrymen, but I ask you, are we to stand aside while our fellow Brits are slaughtered? I say no! We must show these traitors that even though Britain has fought off a Dark Lord twice within twenty years, she is still a force to be reckoned with! It is for this reason that I have asked the Wizengamot to admit their inadequacy and step back. They must allow me to do the job I was elected to do without the restraints of an obsolete organisation that only thinks of preserving its own power. I fully intend to use this to do what is best for our country and wage war on France. Our allies in Spain and Portugal have already given their support, and I urge you, the proud people of Britain, to do the same. Together, we will show our oldest enemies just how wrong they are to think themselves our equals. Together, we will bring back the glory of the British Empire!"_


	6. Chapter 6 - Freedom

By now, Harry and Susan had lost count of how many times they had slept or eaten. They did not care though, as they could hardly remember a life outside their prison. They had also all but given up on doing the heavier spells wandlessly, so they prioritised others, so they could get more used to wandless magic.

Resting after having practiced for quite some time, they heard a sound. Immediately, both were hyper-aware and ready to react. It was not a loud sound, but after so long of no sounds they did not make themselves, it was almost frightening. It had come from outside Harry's cell.

They heard it again. The sound was coming nearer.

It did not take long before they identified the sound as footsteps. There were also several people speaking in what sounded like french.

The prospect of seeing, or interacting in any way, with another human being both intrigued and scared them somewhat. Even hearing human voices was quite a strange sensation. Choosing not to trust the owners of the voices, especially when they were their captors, Harry stepped up beside the doorway.

Before the voices came within range, they shushed each other, and the steps approached more cautiously.

The steps stopped, and they could hear the rattling of keys. They listened as one lock was unlocked at a time. There were far more than necessary.

Hearing the keys stop, Harry got ready. He heard a door open and was about to turn when he realised it was not his door. Apparently there were two doors.

Getting ready to strike again, Harry waited. When the inner door opened, he braced himself.

The first man to stick his head inside was struck with a stunner. It was not strong enough to knock him out, but Harry managed to grab his wand and repeat the spell properly.

Stepping into the doorway, Harry saw two more wizards standing in shock. They had clearly not expected him to fight.

 _Petrify one of them so we can question him._ Susan suggested.

He quickly stunned one. This shook the last wizard out of his stupor, but, agreeing with Susan, Harry petrified him before he could get his wand ready.

Harry looked around to get his bearings, not that there was much to see. His cell was at the end of a long corridor sloping down towards him. There was nothing else in the corridor, the walls were even the same material as his cell.

 _This is…_ Susan started before her thoughts stumbled into incoherency.

It was one thing seeing through another's eyes when there was nothing but a dark cell to see. It was something completely else when there was space and light and _people._

 _Amazing._ Susan finished.

Harry picked up their wands and started moving down the hall.

 _You really shouldn't forget the keys. I don't want to be locked in here all day._ Susan thought.

Harry started moving as quietly and cautiously down the corridor as possible.

 _I can't believe I might actually see you again after so long._ Harry thought.

 _Me neither, though getting out would be nice too._ Susan thought.

 _That'll probably take some getting used to. I'm just glad we at least moved around a little so our muscles still exist._

Nearing the end of the corridor, Harry listened carefully before looking out. He saw a roughly round room with at least fifteen corridors like his sloping down, and one sloping up. They assumed this was the way out.

 _Which one do you think you're in?_ Harry asked.

 _No idea. Guess you'll have to try them one after the other._ Susan replied.

Harry sighed exaggeratedly.

 _Oh come on. You haven't had proper exercise in months!_ Susan teased.

Making sure there was no danger Harry started down one of the passages. It was exactly like his. The architects obviously did not think it worth the expense to decorate the prison.

 _You think it's been that long?_ Harry asked.

 _It's hard to keep track of time, but I doubt it's less than a month._

 _I just hope the world hasn't gone to much to shit._

 _You don't think the world can take care of itself without us?_

 _Not considering how we ended up here._

Now it was Susan's turn to sigh.

 _Let's worry about that later. First we need to get out of here._ She thought.

Reaching the door, Harry called out to Susan, not too loud unless someone outside could hear him. His voice sounded funny.

Not hearing himself through Susan, he started back to try another cell.

 _We really should have used our voices while in our cells. That was painful._ Harry thought. _And sounded horrible._

 _It wasn't that bad._ Susan replied.

 _Says someone who hasn't heard a human voice for who knows how long._ Harry thought.

 _Well, you aren't exactly one to judge either._

Harry was walking down his sixth passage. He was starting to worry that Susan might be placed in an entirely different location, and he had no idea how long it would take before their captors realised those who had come down to him had not returned.

He called out to Susan again, but could not hear it.

Turning back, he heard a sound from inside the cell. Harry returned to the cell and called again.

"Hello?" a cracked voice called.

"Someone's there?" Harry asked.

He could hear some movement in the cell.

"Please, let me out!" a man's voice answered.

Harry hesitated. He did not know if he could trust the prisoner.

 _Let him out. He's imprisoned by the same people._ Susan thought.

 _The enemy of my enemy is my friend?_ Harry thought.

 _Exactly._

Harry opened both doors.

Inside, the other prisoner stood in a defensive stance just inside.

"Relax, I don't want to hurt you. I just got out of my own cell," Harry said.

"How?"

"Knocked out some guards that came into my cell."

The man considered this for a short while.

"I guess thanks are in order," he said, relaxing his defensive stance and offering his hand, "the name's Oliver Beaumont."

"I couldn't let someone stay and rot here could I?" Harry replied, shaking the man's hand, "I'm Harry Potter."

"I know," Mr. Beaumont answered casting his eyes down.

"Noticed the scar?" Harry asked, curious of the man's reaction.

"No I… I'll explain later, we should get out before they realise something is happening."

Harry wanted to question him, but he was right. Besides, Susan was waiting for him.

 _I almost thought you had forgotten me._ Susan thought.

 _No you didn't._ Harry answered with a smirk.

 _Why does this bond have to be two way? I can't play around with you anymore._ Susan pouted.

 _Wouldn't be fair otherwise, would it? Anyway, we should be able to find some way of hiding some thoughts from the other._

 _Right, now worry about that later and get over here and let me see you again._

 _Of course ma'am._ Harry replied. Susan shook her head.

"What are you smiling at?" Oliver asked.

"Just looking forward to seeing my wife again," Harry answered.

Harry continued his search for Susan, now accompanied by his fellow captive. After five more tries, he finally found the right one.

"Harry!" Susan called. It was one of the most delightful sounds Harry had ever heard. Like his own, her voice was somewhat cracked, but he could hear her hope shining through.

Harry scrambled to unlock the doors. This time, he did not open the door slowly but swung it wide open. He barely got a chance to look inside before he was embraced by his wife.

 _I've missed you so much._ She thought.

 _I've missed you too._ Harry thought.

For a long time, they just stood there in each other's arms, relishing in each other's presence after months of separation.

 _I don't want this ever to happen again._ Susan thought.

 _It wouldn't have happened if we had stopped to think, which is difficult when…_ Harry faltered.

 _We're free now, we can find them and save them._

 _Those responsible will pay. I'll make sure of it._ Harry promised.

 _We both will, but first we need to get out._

 _Right. We should also find our wands._

"Uhm… I hate to interrupt, but we probably should get going."

 _Introduce me to him._ Susan thought.

 _But-_ Harry started.

 _I know I know, but we don't want him to know how I know, do we?_ Susan explained.

 _As always, I must bow to your superior wisdom._

 _As always._

Harry released himself from their embrace and he turned to Mr. Beaumont, who was standing with a slightly humored expression.

"May I introduce you to my wife, Susan Potter," Harry said to the man.

"Nice to meet you," he replied, offering his hand for the second time that day.

"Susan, Mr. Beaumont."

"How do you do," Susan said, shaking the offered hand.

"Call me Oliver, now really isn't the time for formalities."

"I couldn't agree more," Susan replied, "how do we get out of here?"

"I know the way," Oliver said.

"You do?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I… used to be one of them," the man answered.

Immediately, he had Harry's wand at his neck.

"Not anymore though. Why do you think I was thrown down here?" he said with his arms in the air.

Harry removed his wand from Oliver's neck, but still had it ready.

"What happened?" Susan asked.

"I didn't agree with what we were doing. Many of us didn't, but most chose to stay silent for their own good."

"Who are 'we'?" Susan asked.

"A group of French mercenaries. My real name is Olivier, but it's easier for you English to call me Oliver."

"Mercenaries? Who hired you?"

"Death Eaters. We were hired to aid in the kidnapping and in holding you captive afterwards."

"Death Eaters?" Harry asked, his wand once more pointing threateningly at the ex-mercenary, "why would they hire French mercenaries?"

"I don't know, but apparently, it was very important that we were French."

"Why would the-" Susan started, but stopped at Harry's thought.

 _Scrimgeour. He wanted to push the blame of the attacks on Grimmauld Place on the French along with the Death Eaters._ He thought. _This seems quite similar, doesn't it?_

 _It does._

The Frenchman looked weirdly at Susan's sudden self-interruption, so she asked a new question.

"How long were we in here?" Susan asked.

"I was locked in around the middle of July, five months after…"

"After you attacked us," Harry finished, eyeing the man.

"Yes," Oliver confirmed, "look, I told you I didn't like it. I knew who these Death Eaters were, and I don't like kidnapping children, but it didn't seem like there was a choice."

"I've heard that one before," Harry said.

"I won't forgive you for what you were part of, but for the moment, we need to forget that and work together to get out of here," Susan said, "you said we'd been here for five months before you were put here?"

"Yes, but as you know, it's almost impossible to keep time down here, so I don't know how long it's been since then, but I'd say at least three weeks."

"Six months!" Harry said.

 _Time sure does fly when you're having- No, wait, that doesn't really work here._ Harry thought.

Susan smiled slightly.

"We need to get out of here right away," Susan said.

"Yes. Things have happened in England that I'm sure you'll want to know, but they can wait," Oliver informed them.

"Right. I don't know if I can trust you, be we'll need as much firepower as we can get, so take this wand," Harry said, offering their fellow prisoner one of the three wands he had confiscated.

"There's no point," the man declined, "I can't use it."

"You're a Squib?" Susan asked with raised eyebrows.

"I don't know what a 'Squib' is, but I believe the Death Eaters called us 'Muggles'," Oliver replied.

"Your mercenary group. It isn't magical?" Harry asked. Both were surprised by this new piece of information.

"No."

 _The Death Eaters must really be desperate if they are working with muggles!_ Harry thought.

 _Or they are being forced to do so._ Susan suggested.

 _The Ministry?_ Harry asked.

 _Exactly. We can't be sure based on the information we have, but it's worth considering._

 _I agree._

"That must be a strained relationship," Susan commented.

"It's quite clear the Death Eaters are being forced into this. My ex-coworkers have some experience working with wizards, probably the reason we were hired, but the Death Eaters are exceptionally arrogant," Oliver said, "some fights did break out, but their leader always put a stop to them. He's obviously not happy working with us either, but he seems determined to make things work."

"Do you know who he is?" Susan asked.

"I don't know his name, and I've only seen him a few times."

"Doesn't really matter anyway I guess," Harry said, "do you know where our children are?"

"No. They never came here."

 _I don't know whether to be happy they aren't in this place or worried that we won't be able to find them._ Harry thought.

 _We_ will _find them. Let's just get out of this place first._ Susan answered, taking Harry's hand.

All three walked back up to the central area.

"I'll go down and lock the ones I knocked out earlier in a cell. We don't want them to sound the alarm," Harry said.

When he returned, they started up the corridor leading upwards. Harry and Susan walked close together, hand in hand. After many months of physical separation, they needed to be near each other. The corridor continued for some way, but eventually they came to a door, and Oliver signalled them to stop. He was about to speak, but Harry stopped him and waved his stolen wand.

"I've cast a silencing charm. We can speak freely without being heard," he explained.

"This door leads into the main complex. Once through, we risk meeting the muggle mercenaries," Oliver said.

"Where can we find our wands?" Harry asked.

"Probably somewhere in the magicals' part of the complex. I've never been in there, so I wouldn't know where."

"Of course not. How do we get there?"

"The corridor just out there is the backbone of almost the entire non-magical part of the compound. At the bottom, near where we'll be coming out, is the living quarters and further up are the kitchens and armoury. It leads to a large living/dining area. Outside is a road, and on the other side of that is the magicals' building. The problem is that we have no idea what the time is, so we don't know whether most of them will be in the dormitories or out and about," Oliver said.

 _My invisibility cloak would be nice._ Harry thought. _That's another thing we'll have to retrieve._

 _If we're lucky, they'll have stored it the same place as our wands._ Susan said.

 _We can hope._

"So we're gonna have to risk it?" Harry said, drawing his wand as Susan did the same.

"It loo-"

Just as Oliver was answering, they heard a loud bang from outside. Shortly after many footsteps could be heard running in the corridor in the direction away from the dormitories.

"What just happened?" Susan asked.

"I don't know," Oliver said, "sounds like an attack of some sort."

They could hear the sounds battle coming from outside, both guns and spells were being fired.

After a while, there was still fighting outside, but they had not heard any sound from the corridor.

"I think we should see what's happening," Oliver said.

Seeing their nods he carefully opened the door and took a peek out. Seeing nothing, he opened it wider until it was completely open. It was now clear that some of the fighting was happening in the dining area not far from their position.

"Is there another way out?" Harry asked.

"There's a ladder to the roof, but I can hear men up there, and we'd be far too exposed. Other than that there are the windows leading out to the road and onto the hill on the other side."

"I take it we'll be going out the back?"

"That was what I was thinking. Though we might want to get some weapons first. At least for me."

"You mean muggle weapons?" Susan asked.

"Exactly. I may not be able to use a wand, but a bullet can be just as deadly," Oliver explained, "if you keep watch here, I'll go to the armoury."

 _We can't be certain he doesn't still have some loyalty to his former coworkers._ Harry thought.

 _I'll go with him._ Susan replied.

"I've never seen one with my own eyes," Susan admitted.

This was true though she did know how one looked. Harry had seen enough muggle television to tell her that.

"And that's what gives us non-magical mercenaries an advantage. Come with me and I'll show you the basics."

"Sounds good," she said.

Oliver nodded and walked out into the other corridor. Susan followed him towards the dormitories and armoury while Harry kept watch.

At their destination, Susan saw rows and rows of guns of all shapes and sizes. There were several empty spaces where weapons had been taken down. Susan moved over to look at them but did not dare touching one. Oliver was taking down several pieces of equipment and sticking some of them together. He stood with a tube holding it over the muzzle of one of the larger guns and seemed to consider something. After a short while, he screwed the tube on and walked over to her.

"This," he said, showing her the weapon, "is an assault rifle. The bullet comes out here, this is the trigger and you hold like this."

"So that's the end I want to keep away from," Susan said.

"Precisely," Oliver said, "now I've put a silencer on this so it won't make as much noise. I don't want us to be discovered the first time I have to defend myself."

"Good thinking, we'll make sure to cast silently."

The fighting was getting nearer. Harry could hear it so so could she. It may have been this way for months, but it still felt unusual, especially when there was actually something to hear.

"If you have what you need, we should get going," Susan informed Oliver.

"Right."

Harry met them just outside in the corridor.

"We can't go that way without being seen," he said.

"Great," Oliver muttered, "There's another way. Follow me."

Closing the door to the prison behind them, they walked further down the corridor until they came to an open door on their right. Oliver walked straight in and looked out the window before opening it slightly. It was night and the main source of light came from within the complex.

"Hurry up. Get outside and get down. You can cast one of those silencing spells, and we can plan our next move," Oliver said.

He opened the window just enough for them to get out and held it there. Harry crawled out before helping Susan down. Oliver followed them and Harry cast a privacy charm.

"If we disillusion ourselves, we should be able to climb the hill without being spotted. No one will be looking for us," Susan suggested.

"Disillusion?" Oliver asked. Harry answered.

"It's a spell that hides the target from view, somewhat. If someone is actually looking for you, they'll still be able to see you."

"But since they won't be looking for us they probably won't see us either," Oliver concluded.

Harry nodded his head in confirmation, "and the dark should give us even better chances."

"It will probably feel a little weird, but I promise it isn't dangerous," Susan said, lifting her wand and pointing it at Oliver. He did not look to pleased to let anyone perform magic on him, but he nodded his acceptance anyway.

The two wizards disillusioned themselves before all three climbed the hill.

" _Merde,_ " Oliver said as he looked over the camp, "how are we ever going to get over there?"

He had a point. Fire stood out of the magical side of the compound in several places. Barricades were placed all over the road that had several bodies lying on it. Wizards were coming up the road from the south while fighting against other wizards hiding behind cover on the road and muggles shooting from the building the escapees had just left.

Around the camp, they saw a tropical rainforest spreading as far as the eye could see, with hills rising here and there.

 _Where are we?_ They both thought it, but Susan was the one to have a suggestion.

 _South America?_

 _Maybe._

"We have a way to get over, but we can't take you with us," Harry said.

"And what would that be?" Oliver asked.

"We're animagi. We can each turn into a specific animal. I'm a raven and Susan," - _Turn now Suze -_ "is a crow."

 _Show off,_ she teased as the Muggle looked at the crow in front of him in astonishment.

 _I've got a right to show off my amazing wife_ sometimes _don't I?_

 _You know, flattery doesn't work that well when I already know exactly what you're thinking._

 _No fair._

"I've heard of this before, but I've never actually seen it," Oliver said.

"Not all magicals can do i, though most just don't bother going through the process," Susan explained, having changed back. Changing in and out of their animagus forms was another thing they had practiced in their cells.

"Anyway, we can't take you with us, but we can take objects with us," she said.

"So we can fly over there get our wands, and maybe my cloak, fly back here, and then we can all be out of here without anyone knowing anything," Harry continued.

"Sounds like a plan. If you could set me up with a silencing spell along with this invisibility thing, I might be able to give you some cover if you get into trouble," Oliver offered.

"Thanks."

Harry cast a privacy charm and he and Susan set off.


End file.
